Waste Not, Want Not

Going to the grocery store is getting to be more and more expensive, but I realize that we are MUCH better off than a lot of other people in the world. I often take a head-in-the-sand approach to international affairs, but it's hard to avoid noticing the food shortages around the world right now.

On a personal level, I'm trying to not waste as much food as we have in the past. As the daughter of parents who grew up during wartime, I have been trained to never throw out leftovers. However, they often end up sitting in a container in the fridge until it's too late to eat them. One trick that has worked for me: instead of pouring all the leftover soup/stew/whatever into one big container, I divide the leftovers up into lunch-sized portions right away, and stick them in the freezer. I still sometimes find a year-old portion of frozen chili (ick!), but I think this helps.

Tonight's dinner is going to be chicken stew, made with the leftovers from the Costco roast chicken we had for dinner on Monday. First, I made stock by simmering the carcass with chopped carrots and celery (I couldn't find an onion). Next, I removed the bones, added the chopped chicken and some frozen corn, and simmered a bit longer. I have a pot of orzo cooking next to it, which I'll add soon. Oh, and garlic salt--that went in at the beginning.